Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

This was quite a shift in reading material: from the 600+ pages of a Pulitzer Prize winner to a very short teenage novel dealing with racism, death and the fight for justice.

The story follows a young black boy who has been shot and killed by a white police officer in Chicago. As a ghost, Jerome witnesses how his family and friends deal with his death. As well as this, Jerome befriends Sarah, the daughter of the policeman who killed him. Leading to some tough questions that both must answer.

He meets another ghost, Emmet Till, a real-life figure, who was killed in similar circumstances – Till later became an icon of the civil rights movement.

A short novel that is unfortunately very necessary right now.

Well worth a read. It won’t take you long.

Next up: The Resident

The Overstory by Richard Powers

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2019.

Not a book I would naturally be drawn to, and if I’m honest, it was a bit of a slog at times.

It’s a book about trees.

It follows the lives of eight very different characters through a series of extended short stories. One thing they all have in common is trees. Each character has a special relationship with trees. Eventually all the different and rather messy plot lines start getting tangled together.

By following these very different people we get a clear idea how climate, and climate change, touches every inch of the Earth.

The separate storylines are quite complicated, it feels very long in places. But what Powers is pretty good at is describing trees. The beautiful poetic descriptions means the book becomes almost dreamlike at times.

It’s a novel about the natural world and our power as human beings to destroy it or redeem it.

There is one passage in the novel that I’d like to share…

Say the planet is born at midnight and runs for one day.

First there is nothing. Two hours are lost to lava and meteors. Life doesn’t show up until three or four am. From dawn to late morning nothing more exists than lean and simple cells.

Something wild happens, not long after noon. Cells evolve.

Dusk falls before compound life takes hold. Every large living thing is a latecomer, showing up after dark. Nine pm brings jellyfish and worms. Later that hour comes the breakout – backbones, cartilage, an explosion of body forms.

Plants make it up on land just before ten. Then insects, who instantly take to the air. Moments later, tetrapods crawl out of the sea. By eleven, dinosaurs have shot their bolt, leaving mammals and birds in charge for an hour.

Somewhere in that last sixty minutes, life grows aware. Creatures start to speculate. Animals start teaching their children.

Anatomically modern man shows up four seconds before midnight.

By midnight, most of the globe is converted to grow crops for the care and feeding of one species. And that’s when the tree of life becomes something else again. That’s when the giant trunk starts to teeter.

Incredible.

Couldn’t end the post without some trees:

Next up: Ghost Boys

Definitely worth a blog post.

Vaccination centre: well organised, easy and smooth operation. The lovely volunteers had me in and out in less than 20 minutes.

Are the pubs open yet!?!?!!

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

The second thriller book of the year.

If you like a stereotypical ‘I think it’s him…or no it’s her…or it might be both of them’ crimey thrillery novel. Then this is well worth a read.

Set in an old sanatorium that has recently been developed into a hotel, this novel follows a slightly flawed off duty copper as she attempts to solve the mystery whilst avoiding been killed herself.

Don’t expect this novel to re-write the crime thriller genre. It doesn’t. But it is quite interesting – well worth a read.

Next up: The Overstory

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes

This book is a little old now: published in 2006. I quite like reading books about running so I thought I’d give it a go.

Clearly the fella is a very good runner. I mean, a very very good runner. The sort of bloke that runs 100 miles for fun. The sort of bloke who runs 25 miles during the advert break in Coronation Street. The sort of bloke who thinks nothing of running three times around the globe while the kettle is boiling.

A very inspirational book. And if I’m honest a bit too inspirational.

The book basically is about him running a few ultramarathons. On one occasion after running 90 miles of a 100 mile race and aching all over, barely able to walk, blisters covering his feet, he says ‘pull yourself together’ and sprints the last ten miles.

On another occasion, 175 miles into a 200 mile race his arms and legs had fallen off and he was virtually dead in a ditch before ‘thinking about his family’ and running the last 25 miles at 6 min/mile pace.

Very inspirational.

Next up: The Sanatorium.

Release by Patrick Ness

I love books by Patrick Ness. The Chaos Walking trilogy is one of my favourite ever series of books. A Monster Calls is just fantastic. So you’d probably expect me to be full of praise for this book.

Well, I am, sort of.

In truth I’m still not actually sure what to think of the book…

When I announced I was reading this book next, one reply stuck in my head…

This is great. Bit tricky but great.

So I was ready for something that was a bit different from your run of the mill YA novel. I know what to expect from Patrick Ness, I get exactly it: beautifully written but slightly strange.

I’ll try to explain in around a 100 words.

This book is essentially two completely different books in one. The main story is fantastic, beautiful, emotional, thought provoking and funny. The exact reason I am a fan of Patrick Ness. But the other story? I think I understand the point of it, I just think the core story was enough. I’m not sure the strange, part fantasy, part supernatural, part magical realism, storyline was needed.

Release is a book about love and relationships, between friends, family or in a romantic sense. It’s also a book about finding yourself and how you want to live your life, no matter who your are, your sexuality, or how you choose to label yourself.

Next up: Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.